Sunshaft Tops Ascot Feature

A short but very classy field of four will go postward in Ascot’s Saturday featured Californication ‘Cap fashioned for sophomore fillies at one mile and three-sixteenth on the grass course.  Let’s meet the precocious young ladies from the hedge outward.

 

Breaking from the inside gate will be Irishman2’s promising Johannesburg filly, Johan’s Delight.  A daughter of the multiple stakes placed Gone West matron, Matriarch, Johan’s Delight enters the Californication off a series of strong performances.  Three starts back she won a nw2L race as much the best.  Then came a sharp second in the Granny Cannon Bonanza stake followed by a powerful score in a nw3L allowance.  Sharp barn has her on edge for this test and any further improvement puts her in the picture.

 

Next comes Thomkal’s multiple stakes winning Three To Eight.  The flashy Congaree chestnut enters the fray off a monster win over this track.  The third of four foals from the Grade II winning Eight Shelley destroyed a fine field of fillies in The Cleveland Town in her last outing.  Her time of 1:50.3 for the nine panels was worthy of a personal best speed rating of 89.  Journeyman Jack Ackland gets the mount.  Serious threat if the favorite falters.

 

It looks like Sunshaft‘s race to win or lose.  The Mineshaft filly is far more accomplished than any of her three rivals.  But since switching to turf, she’s developed a racing pattern that her trainer finds quite annoying.  Two huge races followed by a dud.  She won an allowance race and a listed stake followed by a flop.  Then she won the Grade Three Panhandle Park Oaks easily followed by an absolutely eyepopping victory in Equinics’ Grade One Rodolfo Baez.  But then she raced very poorly in this track’s Grade Three Intercontinental Mile.  So which Sunshaft will show up this time?  I don’t know and neither does her conditioner Mrbigb.  Tune in Saturday to find out.

 

Rounding out our small but powerful field is Paceman2’s speedy Evelin.  The drop dead gorgeous gray has already banked in excess of $330,000 in her brief four race career.  Two back she made the huge leap from maidens to Grade One company look like a baby step as she pummeled a strong field in Ireland’s Train Yard Special.  She followed that up with a strong second behind Lenny3’s streaking Run And Hide in an eleven furlong Grade Three stake.  If the daughter of little used stallion Even The Score runs back to either of her previous two efforts, look out!